Crufts, Scruffts and choosing a dog show

Every year, pooches from all over the world attend the biggest dog show of the year at Crufts. The show celebrates dogs of all shapes and sizes, all competing for the prestigious ‘best in show’ trophy.

While Crufts is the world’s largest dog show, there are plenty of other events to celebrate man’s best friend. In total, there are 314 dog shows scheduled across the UK, leaving plenty of chances to get your fix of cute pooches.

We’ve picked a few that you can enter or attend for fun this year:

Scruffts

The people at Crufts love dogs so much, that they couldn’t leave out the crossbreeds that can’t take part in the main dog show.

The competition is just for fun and uses the celebration to promote responsible pet ownership.

Scruffts isn’t a full-scale show, with only the finalists from rounds held in the previous October taking part in the main Crufts event in March.

The six classes to enter are:

Most handsome crossbreed

Prettiest crossbreed bitch

Child’s best friend

Golden oldie crossbreed

Best crossbreed rescue

GCDS crossbreed class

Owners pay £2 to enter the competition. Every penny goes towards a number of charities, including the Kennel Club Charitable Trust.

The National Dog Show (9-12 May)

The National Dog Show is a massive four-day event that hosts over 10,000 dogs every year. Like Crufts, the show features registered Kennel Club members only.

Each of the four days focus on different breed types:

Utility and toy

Hound and terrier

Gundog

Working and pastoral

Dog lovers are welcomed in to see the thousands of dogs in the competition. The finale features a ‘best in show’ prize and group winners from each category.

DogFest (May/June)

DogFest is the ultimate day out for dog lovers and is held in three locations: